The Little King

60 | The Final Choice (End)

Translator: PastTimer

Editor: PastTimer

_____

The Barbarians believed in the witch doctors, and they must always find a great witch doctor for divination before doing any major things. So when Xia Xi knew that Chu Lan was going to the temple, he knew that the time of war wouldn't be too far away.

He had trouble sleeping and eating these few days, it was difficult for him to calm his restless heart. Although he knew that he was incapable of it, he hoped that there would be some miracle that would grant the two countries peace. He knew that he was too naive and that such a thing would never happen. There were suspicions and contradictions between the people, let alone between the countries? Moreover, he also knew that even if the Xia kingdom's army was strong enough, wouldn't they also want to destroy the Barbarians and swallow this land into their territory?

His heart was entangled, something from a few years ago kept drifting into his mind. He thought and thought again and again before making a decision.

The Xia believed in Buddhism, there were many Buddhist temples in the Xia kingdom, some were even larger than some public servant's mansions, and the scent of incense was strong. When it came to the Barbarian people, most of them didn't believe in Buddha, but there were still a small number of people who believed. There was a Buddhist temple in the city.

The Buddhist temple was built on the east side of the Yudu, close to the city. The monks were mostly Xia people, they knew some Barbarian. Because several monks in the temple recognised medicinal herbs and knew how to treat diseases, incense was very prosperous and their reputation was also very good. Some Barbarians who didn't believe in the Buddha would go there to sit in their free time, help sweep the floor, listen to the sutras seriously, and even help prepare vegetarian food.

After Chu Lan set out to go to the temple, Xia Xi changed into more casual clothing. Bringing only two guards and a maid, he took a carriage out of the Palace and went in the direction of the Buddhist temple. They were dressed low-key and looked like ordinary wealthy people, they weren't conspicuous as they went down the streets. Xia Xi gently lifted the corner of a curtain and saw people coming and going on the roads, some idle folks wandered around, both buying and selling, the crowd was constantly streaming, no different from usual, as if they didn't know that war would soon come.

The Barbarians were armed and combative. Ordinary people would often wear some blades on their waists. If there was a disagreement, they could fight on the streets till they broke their hands or feet. Xia Xi lowered the curtains, his heart was chaotic. Of course, he understood what his behaviour meant. Although Li Yuan¹ had agreed with him that the Barbarians had changed, he had still asked him to "warn" them in advance so that Zhangcheng could better prepare, at least let the people avoid the consequences of war. But no matter what, this still meant betrayal.

Betraying Chu Lan.

With Zhangcheng's strength, even if it was known in advance that Chu Lan was going to mobilize troops, they could last a few more days at most; they'd never be able to withstand the Barbarian cavalry. Not only Zhangcheng, but with the current situation of the Xia kingdom, they could completely occupy the entire territory of Xia in less than three to five years if they were lucky.

Xia Xi didn't want to see the scenes of continuous war. He didn't come to save Xia or Zhangcheng but hoped to save more innocent lives. His heart was battling with contradictions; he knew Chu Lan's love for him, if he knows about this then he'd definitely be extremely uncomfortable. What Xia Xi hated the most was for Chu Lan to suffer pain, especially if the source of that pain was him.